Their Majesties 1.0

• Versions
• 1.0

This is just a basic Gondorian deck... nothing flashy, but what it does, it does quite well.

In just a few turns, you’ll have a host of allies with serious combat power at your disposal. Once Faramir or Visionary Leadership hit the table, any questing issues will disappear too.

One more thing: with just a few tweaks, this deck can be tagged as a #RCO Deck. Check out my proposal for that at the end of this description.

Heroes

Denethor

• Steward of Gondor + Gondorian Shield + 3rd Valiant Sword
• Resource Provider: Fuels our economy, anchors our defense, and helps us play out the biggest allies and attachments.

Boromir

• Visionary Leadership + Valiant Sword + 2nd Gondorian Shield
• Battle Captain: Boosts the attack and willpower of our whole team, and turns every resource into a stat advantage.

Prince Imrahil

• Heir of Mardil + Valiant Sword
• Utility Leader: Quests, fights, and brings allies into play at the right moment, making the most of every resource.

Mulligan & Setup

Mulligan for Steward of Gondor, since it’s the engine that gets our deck running.
Faramir or Visionary Leadership are also must-haves.

Foe-hammer and Valiant Sacrifice are mainly here to help us find these key cards.
If we have Sneak Attack and Gandalf, prioritize Gandalf’s card-draw response.

Strategy & Card Interactions

Card Advantage and Resource Management:
Always save one resource on Boromir, especially with Visionary Leadership in play. This gives us +1 on each ally and +1 on each character.

Prince Imrahil is our multipurpose hero:

• He can quest for 3 with Visionary Leadership.
• Then, he can ready for combat with Heir of Mardil + resource support from Denethor or Errand-rider.
• Finally, he can spend the gained resource to put an ally into play, which can also trigger Valiant Sacrifice at the end of the phase.

Errand-rider is useful for moving resources to Denethor to pay for Knight of the White Tower, or away from Imrahil if he has a surplus. This also helps trigger the Imrahil + Heir of Mardil combo.

Ally Actions and Combos:
Envoy of Pelargir and Soldier of Gondor are the best targets for Imrahil's combat action, since their responses can also be triggered this way. If damage is an issue, we can try to summon a Warden of Healing.

Herald of Anórien's response allows us to "put into play":

• Main priority: Warden of Healing (this is the only way to play them!)
• Extra benefit: Envoy of Pelargir (plus a free resource), Soldier of Gondor (plus card draw)
• Other options: Errand-rider, Angbor the Fearless, or Herald of Anórien himself

Additionally, Herald's “doomed 2” action cost can be useful for reaching valour and boosting Angbor the Fearless, Soldier of Gondor's response, and Valiant Sword.

Atanatar's Knowledge:
Tome of Atanatar should usually target Valiant Sacrifice, or Sneak Attack if we still have Gandalf in hand.

Pillars of the Kings is our best option for threat reduction, and it’s another good target for the Tome if we’re in a hurry to drop our threat.

Sideboard

• Captain of Gondor can improve Prince Imrahil's stats. However, with Boromir's ability, Shields, Swords, and allies like Defender of Rammas, this boost is not vital for our deck.
• Wait no Longer provides a great advantage in the quest phase, especially if we already have a Defender of Rammas or Denethor equipped with a Shield.
• Need Drives Them is a powerful finisher in Gondor-swarm decks.

#RCO Proposed Swaps:

• Herald of Anórien x3 ↔ 3x Pelargir Ship Captain
• Warden of Healing x2 ↔ 2x Honour Guard
• Tome of Atanatar x2 ↔ 3rd copies of Sneak Attack and Gandalf

Honour Guards will mitigate the healing we lose without the Wardens of Healing, and the versatility lost with Tome of Atanatar can be made up for by more Gandalf action.

Herald of Anórien is the only card without a clear replacement. Pelargir Ship Captain’s ability is clearly worse, but not bad, and their stats are slightly better.

In summary: This deck brings together Gondor’s leaders and soldiers for a classic swarm strategy. Mulligan for our key resource and stat-boosting cards, use Imrahil and Boromir to maximize ally value, take advantage of rising threat, and let our Gondorian army handle any challenge!